The Flip Side
by Harmne
Summary: What might have happened if the coin toss in EOT had happened a bit differently...
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: Characters owned by the Creator Janet Evanovich and are used purely for entertainment. What can I say - I like to play in her world!_

_What might have happened if the coin toss in _Eleven On Top _had happened a little differently..._

**_Ranger's POV-_**

My cell rang as I was turning onto Haywood. It was Woody in the control room.

"Cluck-in-a-Bucket is on fire, and a call just went out from Costanza to Morelli that Stephanie was on scene but unhurt. Thought you'd want to know."

I sighed and made a u-turn. Tomorrow's paper would probably claim another catastrophe for the Bombshell Bounty Hunter, but I'd be willing to bet that little if any of the blame was actually hers.

I brought the Turbo to the curb a half a block down from the scene and a beat-up Crown Vic slid in behind me. Morelli fell into step with me before I reached the parking lot.

The building was a bonfire fuelled by grease, and there was the usual chaos of fire trucks, police cars, firemen and hoses, cops and gawkers. It took a minute to locate Steph. She was at the far edge of the lot in the shadows with the '53 Buick she called Big Blue, and even at this distance in the dark she was easy to read.

"She looks miserable," I said, nodding toward her. "She must not have had time to get her purse or she'd have left."

Morelli followed my gaze and sighed. "She's trying to fade into the background. She hates that it'll be in the paper _again_ when for once she was just trying a normal job."

"Normal doesn't suit her." I said softly.

"She's a mess. I'll flip you – whoever loses has to clean her up."

"I _win_, I'll clean her up," I corrected. Morelli just shrugged.

"Suit yourself. Let's go."

I had to smile as we approached but I knew it was tainted with worry. She looked so miserable. I wondered how sure Costanza was that she wasn't hurt.

Stephanie was hunched in on herself, leaning against Big Blue for support. There were smudges of smoke and smears of grease all over her, and globs of pink foam dripped from the chicken-hat and her hair onto her shirt. The gaudy uniform pants were wet to the knees and part of one leg looked charred. I wondered if she even realized she'd nearly caught fire.

Morelli reached out and flicked at the foam on her hat.

""Fire extinguisher foam," she explained. "It wasn't my fault.""

""Costanza told me the fire was started with a bomb.""

""I guess that might be true…indirectly.""

My lips twitched as I listened to her matter-of-fact accounting of events. As usual, my Babe had kept her cool while others had panicked.

Morelli pulled a quarter out of his pocket and looked at me.

"Heads," I said, and he flipped. He extended his hand to me so I could see the quarter, grinning.

"Good luck," he said, and left.

Stephanie was gaping at Morelli's retreating back and trying to work up some outrage. Then she glared at me. "I can't believe you flipped for me!"

There was no way I was going to try and explain, so I just smiled at her and slipped my jacket off. When I tried to wrap it around her she protested.

"This foam stuff might ruin it."

"It won't," I assured her. Hell, I didn't care if it did. She was starting to shiver.

I guided her around the mess, avoiding cops and shielding her from a couple of reporters with cameras, and got her to the car. She hesitated only briefly when I opened the door for her, glancing at me and then back at the leather seat before she got in. She was quiet on the drive and didn't protest when I headed for Haywood instead of her apartment.

Just inside the foyer she toed off her shoes and started across the carpet on her tiptoes, holding her baggy pant legs up with her hands as I flipped on the lights. Now that I could get a better look I realized that some idiot had taped the headset to her head with black electric tape. Frowning, I detoured through the kitchen before I followed her.

The deformed chicken hat sailed past me and landed in the trash can as I stepped into the bathroom. Steph looked at me and raised her eyebrows.

"Peanut butter?"

"It will dissolve the tape adhesive. Trust me."

I opened the jar and scooped some out, finding the end of the tape and starting to work the peanut butter into the hair underneath. What I'd initially thought was water in her hair was a combination of water, smoke, and grease, so the reason behind the tape became clearer. It still pissed me off, and I had to concentrate to keep my hands gentle, but finally the tape started to let go.

After a few minutes Steph said, "You should just pull if off."

"Babe." It would take half her hair with it – and it would hurt. Instead, I picked her up and turned to sit her on the countertop so she didn't have to stand while I worked. It had the secondary advantage of putting her back to the mirror so she couldn't see her bedraggled appearance.

When at last the tape and headset came off I breathed a sigh of relief and reached for her shirt. I wasn't too surprised when she pushed me away, slid off the counter and started undressing herself, so I didn't take it personally. Instead I started the shower and set out a couple of bath sheets. From the cabinet under the sink I pulled the shower-basket I'd asked Ella to stock with Steph's toiletries from a list I supplied. Everything was there, from her brands of shampoo and lotion to the 'miracle' hair conditioner from Mr. Alexander's shop. Then I stripped.

Steph's eyes widened when I handed her the basket and pulled her into the shower with me. Her eyes followed the basket when I took it from her and put in a convenient spot. She was smiling faintly when she turned back to me.

"You forgot my shower gel."

"I like it when you use my shower gel," I admitted grudgingly. "But I love the way your hair usually smells." It was getting easier to tell her these things out loud, and I was rewarded with a soft smile. I brushed a kiss across her lips, promising myself more later, and guided her body into the stream of water. "Now, let me make sure I got all of the adhesive out before I shampoo your hair."

She stood obediently while I ran my fingers through her hair, working the peanut butter through from her scalp to the tips to make sure I'd gotten all the sticky strands. Her eyes were closed, her face tilted toward me, and her lips were still curved when she murmured, "This is going to change my appetite for peanut butter for a while."

Mine, too. I was getting a craving, imagining licking peanut butter off of her skin. I cast a rueful eye down at the aching part of my anatomy bobbing between us and made a mental promise to try it some time in the future, when she'd put this experience behind her. Then I reached for the shampoo.

The first shampoo didn't lather much, so I turned her to rinse and back to do it again. This time it foamed nicely and I took my time, working it through every inch of hair, massaging her scalp and the back of her neck.

"I'm sorry." Her soft words came out of nowhere as I guided her to rinse again.

"For what?" I was reaching for a bath puff and loading it with my shower gel.

"I'm sorry you lost the toss and had to clean me up."

That froze me mid-motion. I couldn't let that go without correcting her.

"Babe." I cupped her cheek with my palm and tilted her face up, willing her to open her eyes. When she did I gave her my best smile. "I **_won_** the toss."

For a heartbeat she looked shocked, then her smile lit up her face. "Then…thank you."

"My pleasure." And believe me, I was going to make sure she enjoyed it, too.

_Should I continue...?_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I got 17 'yes' votes in less than twelve hours... This is short and smutty, a thank-you to all of you who reviewed!**

_Disclaimer: Stephanie and Ranger belong to Janet Evanovich. I just like to let them play -- after all, it's good **clean** fun!_

_**Chapter 2 - Ranger's POV**_

I squeezed the puff and the Bulgari turned into a mountain of suds. I smiled.

"Close your eyes."

She obeyed, and I used some of the lather on my fingers to gently wash her face, washing away the grime and the remnants of her makeup, her Jersey-girl's camouflage paint. Then I turned her so she could rinse her face, and I started on her back, holding her hair aside with my other hand.

I fervently hoped that she never again felt the need to take a job in fast-food. Her skin was actually sticky with grease. I started scrubbing gently with the puff, gradually increasing the pressure as I worked across her shoulders and down her back until I got the little moans she can't help when something feels really good. I smiled and enjoyed the soft sounds.

The smile slipped when I started down her arms and found the burns. I must have made some sound or movement, because she hurried to explain.

"The fryer grease popped on me a couple of times, before I got the hang of dropping the basket into it. It's okay. They don't hurt."

They were second-degree burns, and _she_ was reassuring _me_.

Somehow, knowing she took the job to try and please Morelli only made me feel worse. I took a deep breath but couldn't find any words, so I gently continued scrubbing. I rinsed the puff and reloaded it and started at her feet, still behind her. She braced her hands on the tiled wall as I washed her feet one at a time and started up her legs. There was a faintly pink patch of skin where the charred pants leg had been but it was very minor.

She twitched a little when I got to the back of her knees, where she was ticklish and very sensitive. Her breath quickened when I reached her upper thighs. She shifted her weight and I stroked the puff between her legs. Then the puff slipped out of my hand and a finger accidentally slipped inside her. She cried out, arching into my hand, and I groaned as my groin clenched.

_Not yet, not yet!_ a little voice was yelling in the back of my head. _Where's your control? Only a few more minutes…_

I pulled my finger back reluctantly, doing my best not to hear Steph's soft whimper. I picked up the puff, rinsed and reloaded.

Stepping closer, I pulled Steph to me, her back to my chest, and ran the puff in a line from her belly-button up to her neck. She settled back into me, wiggling her butt against my straining erection, forcing a noise from me that was close to a growl. I started scrubbing – her neck, across her collar bones and down, anchoring her to me with my left hand splayed across her belly. Her head fell back onto my shoulder and I had an unobstructed view as the puff moved down.

I barely brushed the tips of her breasts with the puff and watched her nipples harden and pucker. I made a concerted effort not to skip a single inch of the tender skin, making sure to get all the way around and under each luscious breast – and perhaps I brushed across the tender nipples a couple more times, too.

She was panting now, and she was no longer standing still. "Ranger…!"

I slid my left hand up to her breastbone and moved the puff down. "Almost done…almost," I whispered in her ear as I finished scrubbing the last few inches. Then I dropped the puff and wrapped myself around her as close as I could get. One hand turned her face up so I could take her mouth, and the other slid into the wet curls and plunged back into her heat, stroking hard and fast until she came writhing in my arms.

_**TBC…**_

_Sorry it's short, but I gotta go take a shower! I have to go to work tomorrow!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: Stephanie, Ranger, and Joe belong to Janet Evanovich and are borrowed strictly for fun. Thanks always to her for letting us play in her world._

_**A/N: For those of you who've been wondering, this isn't really part of my "Agreement" series. It's just something I got the urge to write while wrestling with my muse for the next installment, "Miami Break". Please stay tuned…**_

_**Chapter 3 – Stephanie's POV**_

The surreal quality that had taken over my life the past few days just became…more. _Much_ more.

I was in Ranger's shower, with his arms wrapped like mocha-colored steel bands around me, holding my weight because my legs gave out shortly after his fingers gave me a taste of heaven. I was gasping for breath, my heart was pounding so hard that I had spots before my eyes, and I was trembling. And I could think about was begging for more.

Ranger was motionless. I could feel his heart pounding against my back, feel his breath on my neck, but it barely registered because his fingers were still there… Between my legs. Inside me.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, and then he began to pull his hand away. My breath hitched in my throat at the delicious slide against my most tender skin, and I couldn't help the small sound that escaped my throat. His arms tightened around me I felt him kiss the back of my neck.

I was in some sort of shock, I suppose. I was aware of Ranger letting me go slowly, making sure I was able to stand alone. I heard the shower go off, and felt the towel he wrapped around me. But I was lost inside my head, trying to figure out how I came to be here.

I remembered the notes, the button factory, the dry cleaners, the exploding car… The endless horror of the chicken fryers, then a maybe-bomb and the fire. Oh, I remembered now, I was tired of stalkers and bombs and was trying to have a normal job, a normal life, like a normal 'Burg girl. But after the fire, Ranger and Joe both came… The coin toss. They'd flipped for me, and now I was here.

Gentle hands were squeezing water from my hair with a towel, carefully drying my burned arms, then the rest of my body. Soft fabric was slipped over my head, my arms guided into sleeves. I kept my eyes closed, but I knew my lips curved. One of Ranger's t-shirts. I was carried, and only when I was carefully laid down on the bed did I open my eyes again.

It was dark in the bedroom except for one lamp beside the bed. Ranger had pulled on his robe, and the light color made his skin look darker. With his hair loose and wet he looked more foreign, a little wild - almost like a stranger. He put a first-aid box on the nightstand and sat on the bed beside me.

"Are you okay, Babe?" His voice was low, husky…and a little hesitant. I nodded my head because I didn't trust my voice. "I need to take care of these burns," he said, taking a hold on one of my arms and turning it toward the light. I let him do what he wanted, watching his hands work against my skin as he applied burn cream, and bandaged the burns with blisters. His gentle touch on the skin of my inner elbow made me shiver. He pulled the covers up around me and started to get up.

My hand shot out to catch his, my fingers closing around his wrist and slipping beneath the terrycloth sleeve. And I felt the marks on his skin my nails had left. "Where are you going?"

"I have some things to finish in the bathroom," he said quietly in an emotionless voice. And it finally registered in my brain, the careful way he'd been sitting…

"Are you coming back?" Even to me my voice sounded breathy, husky.

He pulled his wrist back a little until he was holding my hand, and shook his head slightly. "I don't want to cause more problems with you and Morelli."

"The coin toss was Joe's idea, wasn't it." It wasn't really a question, and Ranger didn't answer, but I saw the truth in the barest flicker of his eyes. I tightened my fingers around his. "You won."

"I won the chance to clean you up," he clarified, then looked away from my eyes. "The shower…I took it farther than I'd intended. It wasn't part of the deal."

If I had to beg, I would. "If Joe had won, what do you think he'd do?" I could see a muscle in his jaw clench but he still wouldn't meet my eyes. "Please, Ranger. Come to bed."

He turned to face me then, with something close to pain on his face and his eyes nearly aflame. "I want to, but I won't. _Dios_, Stephanie, there's nothing I'd love more than to crawl inside you and stay there – but _not_ because I blackmailed you, and _not_ because of a damned coin toss. Never again, not unless it's only because **_you_** _want_ **_me_**."

I was suddenly on my knees before him, his hand clutched between both of mine. Could he really not know?

"Ranger… I go on surveillance with you just to be in the same vehicle. I look forward to distraction jobs to feel your hands on me when you wire me. I've never in my life let anyone get away with trying to blackmail me. Is that really why you think I agreed to your deal?"

"You were afraid of me. Every time I came near you, that whole time, you acted scared."

"I was. I was terrified - that you were going to laugh, or pat me on the head, tell me you were just joking and walk away."

"Stephanie—"

"I _wanted_ that deal. Maybe even more than you did. I—"

His mouth cut me off, his hands treading through my hair holding me to him. He made love to my mouth with his own until I was dizzy. When he pulled back slightly, I was on my back and he was looking down at me, his eyes burning into mine.

"Are you sure, Babe? My life is not entirely my own. I can't offer you much – not a ring or a picket fence or permanence, not right now. Maybe not ever."

"Can you offer me love?"

His smile was tender. "You already have my heart. You have for a long time."

I nodded, fighting tears. "Then I'm sure. I love you. I have for a long time."

_**TBC…**_


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: All characters herein are property of Janet Evanovich and are borrowed strictly for entertainment. Hopefully you are entertained!_

_**Chapter 4**_

"Steph--" Ranger whispered my name as his lips met mine.

For a moment the kiss was gentle, hesitant. I was the one who deepened it, stroking my tongue along his lower lip. Asking for more… It was if I'd tripped a switch, releasing something wild he'd kept locked deep inside.

My t-shirt was gone in the next breath, his robe right behind it. Then Ranger was settling his weight carefully over me, his mouth still on mine. He kissed across my jaw to my neck and down, whispering words in both English and Spanish, most of which I couldn't concentrate on enough to understand. Only the feel of his breath and his mouth on my skin was clear.

He moved down, working his way to my breasts, capturing one nipple. The heat of his mouth alone bowed my back and made me cry out; and then he began to suckle. First one side, then the other, back and forth he worked using lips and teeth and tongue. In minutes my hands were fisted helplessly in his hair and I was hovering on the edge of release. Then he bit down, and I fell over screaming.

I felt him laugh against me, low and knowing and eager, as I gasped for breath. Then he moved up and slid deep inside in one slow, controlled push and I lost it again. Oh, god, I'd forgotten-- I'd forgotten how incredible it felt to be filled and stretched and _taken_ with such careful violence.

Long, slow strokes, nearly all the way out, then back in slow and deep. It was more than I could handle and yet I wanted more, urging him on, my fingers digging into his skin. He caught my wrists and pulled them away, trapping them over my head as he rose over me, lifting his weight so I could breathe and he could better control his thrusts.

The lamp next to the bed lit his warrior's body in bold relief, highlighting the sheen of his skin and the flex of the muscles moving beneath it, all the way down past his washboard abs to where our bodies were joined. I watched, helplessly fascinated, as his body surged into mine, again and again and again. My eyes drank in the details of him… the faint line of hair down his belly… a long, thin scar across his ribs…the dark shape of a small tattoo in the hollow of his shoulder… The muscles in his neck were corded, and his head thrown back in pleasure. And his face, caught between rapture and pain, sent me over again.

He shifted, his rhythm speeding. He lowered his weight to his elbows, trapped both my hands in one of his, and slipped the other beneath me, arching me up to take him deeper. His entire body caressed mine now with each movement, and another wave was building… I felt him start to tremble; heard myself chanting his name urgently, then he was thrusting, fast, hard, and deep - and I shattered.

I felt Ranger's cry, his mouth buried at my throat; I felt the shudders of his body as he exploded deep inside me. My body writhed in ecstasy, the spasms of my inner muscles contracting tightly around him. He thrust again and sent another wave crashing thorough me…

When I came back to awareness, Ranger was on his back with his arms still around me, holding me close. Curled against him as I was, I could hear his heartbeat beneath my ear, gradually returning to normal.

I lay quietly. I didn't think I could talk yet; at least I was pretty sure nothing coherent would come out. Most of my muscles seem to have shorted out. I could move my fingers, so I settled for stroking the side of Ranger's neck where my hand was tangled in his hair.

After a few minutes his grip on me loosened, and his hands started stroking up and down my back. A low soft chuckle shook his chest, barely heard, and when he spoke his voice was low and lazy, and laced with a soft accent, - the ghost of one he'd teased me with once before.

"If I'm dreaming, don't wake me up yet."

_TBC…_

_A/N: Probably only one more short chapter to this. I'm hoping to continue the "Agreement" series soon…_


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: In case you haven't realized it, this is pure gratuitous smut. Last chapter!**_

_Disclaimer: Characters property of Janet Evanovich and used without permission. She probably wouldn't approve, but Steph needed some fun…_

_**Chapter 5**_

"_If I'm dreaming, don't wake me up yet."_

I think it took a moment for what he said to sink in, and another minute for me to get over the shock. That did _not_ sound like the Ranger I knew. It sounded more like…me.

Was I rubbing off on him?

I giggled, the very idea that I might influence Ranger striking me as unlikely. He must have interpreted it differently, though, because he nipped me sharply.

"Ow! Hey, no biting!"

Again that soft chuckle shook him. "You liked my bite earlier."

I opened my mouth to argue, then the memory of his teeth closing on me shivered through me like an aftershock. "That was different," I finally got out in a voice that sounded breathless even to me.

He rolled me onto my back and propped himself up on his elbow to look down at me. After a moment he began to smile; the corners of his eyes crinkled first, then his lips curved. My breath hitched slightly and the smile widened.

He pushed himself up further, putting his other hand flat on the mattress beside me to steady himself as he leaned over and gently bit my chin. I gasped and he let go, shifting to capture my mouth. He kissed me, then caught my lip between his teeth and tugged.

"What are you doing?" I gasped when he let go. I caught the flash of his grin.

"Testing. What kinds of bites do you like – and where?" And he pounced.

He nibbled along my jaw, bit my ear, and started to work his way down my neck. I could feel him smiling against my skin and I started to laugh, struggling halfheartedly to push him away. He evaded my efforts to stop him and chewed his way down my arm, laughing triumphantly when a bite on my inner elbow made me shiver.

"That's one," he said, and he gave me a big-bad-wolf smile before attacking again.

He snuck a bite of my breast and made me arch up into him, then he nipped my ticklish ribs and I shrieked, twisting beneath him, laughing and trying to escape and _oh my **god**_ since when is the small of my back an erogenous zone? And the back of my knee? I twisted and giggled and moaned as Ranger explored, barely registering his teasing count, savoring every satisfied chuckle, and then he was _there_, between my legs, catching that sensitive nub between his teeth, and I came completely unglued.

Somehow he pinned me, held me so I couldn't fight as he had his way. His fingers slid deep as he sucked me between his teeth, and I screamed.

We destroyed the bed.

I lay tangled with Ranger where we'd collapsed, slowly regaining my breath and waiting for feeling to return to my legs, and the mess began to register. The pillows were gone. The lamp was leaning against the wall drunkenly. The comforter and top sheet had disappeared, and the fitted sheet had pulled loose and lay twisted and damp beneath us.

Long before I was able to move, Ranger cupped my face in his hands and kissed me gently. He turned out the lamp, retrieved the comforter and pulled me back into his arms. I began to drift toward sleep listening to his heartbeat.

I knew tomorrow would probably be awkward, especially if I had to see Joe. My body would certainly be sore in some interesting places. I couldn't bring myself to care. For now, I was happy.


End file.
